Today’s Morning Brief is brought to you by Equal Voice. Equal Voice is a national multi-partisan organization whose mandate is to promote the election of more women to every level of government.

Good morning to you.

Today is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls on the the world to mark the day by “[committing] to fully realizing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, including the rights to self-determination and to traditional lands, territories and resources.” The focus this year is on the migration of Indigenous peoples to urban centres, focusing on the current situation of indigenous territories and the root causes of migration.

Now that Canada has made clear there will be no apologies or grovelling, it remains to be seen how Saudi Arabia will respond. Yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused to say ‘sorry’ on the country’s behalf, defended Canada’s actions and stood behind a tweet sent out by Global Affairs Canada condemning the recent arrests of social activists, including the sister of blogger Raif Badawi, whose wife and three children recently became Canadian citizens.

He said Canada will always speak “strongly” about concerns around human rights.

Earlier in the day, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir had told a news conference that Canada had been given the information it needs to correct its mistake and that the ball is now in Canada’s court. After suspending diplomatic ties earlier this week, Saudi Arabia has been busy ordering central banks and state-owned pension funds to sell off all Canadian assets, and arranging for all Saudi patients in Canadian hospitals to be transferred out of the country.

Government House Leader Todd Smith wouldn’t rule out sending Bill 5 to committee entirely, but told reporters on Wednesday that time is of the essence. After all, taking away municipal representatives by way of the bill is in “the best interests of the people of Toronto. It’s in the best interests of all of us here in the legislature to get this bill passed.” Marieke Walsh has more.

Back to federal politics, where Conservative MP James Bezan is targetting Liberal MPs on Twitter over their support for Bill C-71, the Liberal gun legislation. Bezan has tweeted the contact details of five Liberals who won their ridings by slim margins, urging constituents to call them up and express their opposition to the gun bill. Tim Naumetz reports.

Meanwhile, the new minister of border security and reducing organized crime is saying that, though Canada’s existing gun laws are effective, the government is considering additional restrictions in certain parts of the country to help reduce gun violence. Will Bill Blair be getting a shout out on Bezan’s Twitter feed?

The head of the second-largest federal union can’t let go of the top bureaucrat’s suggestion to make it easier to fire public servants in the wake of the Phoenix pay fiasco. Debi Daviau, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, came out swinging at Privy Council Clerk Michael Wernick in June when he first suggested Parliament change public service employment laws to make it easier to fire employees for poor performance, mismanagement and misconduct.

Montreal-based CAE – formerly Canadian Aviation Electronics – has scored a major boost from the federal and provincial governments with announcements it will receive nearly $200 million in largely-loaned funding over the next five years. The money will go towards harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, as well as augmented and virtual reality to develop the next generation of simulation and training products. Charlie Pinkerton has the details.

iPolitics/Matthew Usherwood

We’re sending our best to Liberal Sen. Mobina Jaffer, who has been diagnosed with cancer. She took to Twitter yesterday to ask for “good thoughts and prayers” as she awaits word on whether or not it has spread. She told iPolitics: “I’m doing well and I’m optimistic.”

HERE AND THERE

Statistics Canada releases the new housing price index for June and the national cannabis survey for the second quarter;

President Donald Trump‘s legal team has reportedly rebuffed special counsel Robert Mueller’s conditions for an interview – and is apparently suggesting a more limited line of questioning. As The New York Times reports,attorneys Jay Sekulow and Rudy Giuliani did not completely reject an interview, but instead countered Mueller’s offer with one of their own. The lawyers did not comment on the specifics of their proposal, but sources told the newspaper that it rules out potential questions about obstruction of justice. We can only imagine how pleased Mueller must be with this never-ending dance.

AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

If and when it happens, Trump best not talk in his ‘loopy ways.’ That’s the word from former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, who said for the president’s sake, it’d be best if the interview just never happens. “My problem with Donald Trump sitting down is that Donald Trump talks in such loopy ways, and he’s constantly contradicting himself and saying things.” Speaking on Fox Business Network, Fleischer, who served under George W. Bush, warned of the possible pitfalls.

“There’s a massive amount of risk. The risk of losing his office. That’s the risk,” he added. “The risk is they trip him up over something innocuous. Where he says something that is contradicted by something and they call it perjury. And that goes to Congress, and then Congress goes to the Democrats in the fall and he gets impeached.” But he’s a stable genius! Surely nothing to worry about here, Ari.

And while Giuliani says he wants the negotiations wrapped up by the beginning of next month, he’s also saying Republicans could benefit from dragging the process into the November midterm elections. All of which is to say, there’s no rush on his end.

Meanwhile, former vice-president Joe Biden has launched ‘As You Are,’ an LGBTQ family acceptance campaign. His foundation will use its resources to “highlight the harms” family rejection causes LGBTQ youth.